The Essence of Magic
by TheBlackLord
Summary: AU. After 5th year. Harry's had enough. He's tired of both the Light and the Dark. So when an entity comes to his dreams and has a proposition for him, he accepts. Even though the proposition is to destroy both the Dark side and the Light side... Gray!Harry. Harem. Harry/Daphne main pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own HP; I only own OCs and the plot line starting from here.**

**The Essence of Magic**

_**Dream**_

_Darkness._

_ That was the first thing Harry saw._

_ It was the night after the battle in the Ministry of Magic._

_ The night after Sirius' death._

_ Darkness._

_ Suddenly a fantastic array of colors exploded in Harry's vision. There were many shades of purple. A range of blues. A myriad of oranges and greens. _

_ Then just as soon as the explosion of colors started, it stopped. In the middle of the brilliant colors was a pure white sphere. The sphere seemed to be calling to him. Beckoning him forward, as if it __**needed**__ to talk to Harry._

_ Harry cautiously began walking toward the sphere. As he got closer he could feel immense amounts of pure magic radiating off of the brilliant orb. "Come closer…" the orb commanded, in a stern, yet pleasant tone. "Come forward and listen to me child, for I have waited a long time to speak to you."_

_ "Who— what are you?" the depressed boy managed._

_ "I am the Essence of Magic. I control all magic in existence. I have been watching you. You are the perfect candidate for what I have planned." The Essence whispered._

_ Harry, sensing that it had more to say, remained silent._

_ "I have been stirring over the past thousands of years. The only reason I would be stirring is if magic has been misused. I've been watching over the past few centuries and I have repeatedly seen the atrocities committed by magic," it paused. "I wish to put a stop to this misuse. However, in order to do this, I will need a vessel, or a carnate, form. I have decided that you are the only one in existence that can do as I require. As my carnate form, you will have all the knowledge of all forms of magic. You will have immense power. Power that even Voldemort and Dumbledore couldn't match combined. While I am exhausted of the atrocities that have been committed, I believe that it is necessary to fight fire with fire. With that said, your spells will all naturally be more powerful than other wizards. You have my permission to use those Unforgivable Curses of yours. Meanwhile, magic for all other wizards will weaken partially. I need you to purge the Light and Dark sides. All that can remain are those who practice gray magic. For if only gray magic is used, then there will be balance in power, and in there is balance of power, less atrocities will be committed. Those families that are neutral, and don't practice Dark more than Light or Light more than Dark, are the ones that are safe, along with all magical creatures, for it is not their fault if they are Light or Dark, as they are simply born that way, they don't have a choice. These creatures include goblins, centaurs, basilisks, giants, trolls, vampires, werewolves, and more. These creatures will all follow you and aid you in your campaign, as they _all _simply want balance, thus why they are supporting one side or the other._

_ "You are probably wondering why I have chosen you to do this. I have chosen you because you have nothing left. Your friends will abandon you. You have no family. Dumbledore is using you as a pawn, a mere stepping stone, so he can gain all the glory. Voldemort is trying to kill you. What do you have left? Nothing. You will have a purpose as my carnate form. You will be in control of your own fate and destiny. Nobody will be able to control you. I know power means nothing to you. I know that there is only one thing you _truly _want; and that is control of your destiny. Do this for me, and you will have exactly that. Control._

_ "There has only ever been one other wizard that could have accomplished this, but I could not contact him, as I was still waking. I am finally fully awake. Able to finally fix the wretched things that wizards have been doing over the last few millennia. I understand you are not comfortable with taking lives, but this must be done. If this is not done, the world will destroy itself. You must understand, there is no good or evil, only balance. You will lead armies to victory, finally purifying magic once and for all. Your armies will not only consist of magical creatures, but also wizards. I will contact the wizards that only practice Gray magic and they will do as I say. You are to be my force; my voice. You will understand all magical languages, along with Parseltongue, which you already know._

_ "I know it must be a difficult decision, but, using Dumbledore's own words, it is 'for the greater good'. What is your decision, young one?"_

_ Harry calmly reflected on everything the Essence just told him. He knew it was all true. The Light and Dark are destroying the world. He also knew that he had nothing left. According to the Essence of Magic, his so-called-friends were going to betray him. After a few more minutes of reflection, he reached his decision._

_ He looked straight into the orb, and whispered, "I'll do it. For the greater good."_

_ "Very well, young one. As soon as you wake up, you will be teleported to where your base of operations will be. Magical creatures and Gray families will slowly join you, as they will have to travel. Be prepared, though, for your base is in a nest of basilisks that have been sleeping for millennia waiting for this day. A day that I knew would come, and so, commanded them to prepare. They will listen to you. As will all other magical creatures." The Essence stayed silent for a moment before continuing, "Now, if you are ready, step inside of me, and take my knowledge and power. If you need me, I will forever be in your mind guiding you, but for a while, I will be busy rallying your troops."_

_ Harry hesitantly stepped into the white orb, suddenly feeling a great rush of power flowing through him as he entered. It was incredibly painful. His mind began buzzing with long lost knowledge and his magical core began soaking up more and more power. Just as the pain became unbearable, it stopped, and the Essence of Magic echoed in his head, "Wake up, my champion. Wake up, and be prepared…"_

_ With that, Harry awoke with a start._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Essence of Magic**

**§= Parseltongue**

**Previously**

_Harry hesitantly stepped into the white orb, suddenly feeling a great rush of power flowing through him as he entered. It was incredibly painful. His mind began buzzing with long lost knowledge and his magical core began soaking up more and more power. Just as the pain became unbearable, it stopped, and the Essence of Magic echoed in his head, "Wake up, my champion. Wake up, and be prepared…"_

_ With that, Harry awoke with a start._

**Now**

The first thing Harry saw when he woke was a pair of massive yellow eyes. He had a feeling that he knew the creature that owned said eyes, but he was curious as to why he wasn't dead. If this creature was indeed a basilisk, then he should have died the second he looked into the serpent's eyes.

"§ _I wonder if this is the being the Essence spoke of. _§" The snake in front of him hissed to a different serpent.

"§ _I do not know, but it's a good thing we have our inner eyelids containing our death stare, because if he is indeed the being, then he would have died. _§" A different one answered, then sniffed Harry, "§ _He smells funny. _§"

That knocked Harry out of his stupor and he immediately tried to defend himself. "§ _You smell funny! _§"

The two serpents staring intently at him seemed even more intrigued than before. After a few more sniffs and once-overs, the first basilisk finally hissed, "§ _Oh good, he's a speaker. That will make things a whole lot easier. _§" The snake seemingly grinned at its counterpart, "§ _Greetings, human! Welcome to the most ancient nest of basilisks in all of existence. You are the first outsider to come into our nest, so you should feel honored. Now, first off, who are you? _§"

Harry stiffly turned his head to take in his surroundings before hissing back, "§ _I am Harry Potter. The Essence of Magic has given me the task to bring balance to magic once again. It has seen the atrocities wielders of Light and Dark magic have committed over the millennia, and has decided to put a stop to it now that the Essence is awake._

"§ _I was told by the Essence to obtain help from all magical creatures, including the basilisks, which is why I am here. I was told that this would be my base of operations for destroying those who have abused magic. The Essence is currently rounding up other magical creatures and Gray families for the upcoming war against the Dark and Light. So, I humbly request that you allow me to stay here, and also aid me in the war that is to come. _§"

The two serpents looked at each other and nodded in an unspoken agreement. The second looked Harry straight in the eye, "§ _We will aid you in your coming battle against your enemies. The Essence of Magic has told us of you. It said that you are the only way for all magical creatures to live equally amongst each other. While we basilisks here in this nest have not been hunted, we are concerned for our other brothers and sisters. We are well aware that your kind kills us for sport and for our venom and skin. I even smell a little bit of basilisk blood on you, however, the Essence has already told us that you were given no choice, as our dear sister had gone insane due to the terrible things she was forced to do. For freeing her, on behalf of my brethren and I, we thank you. You have given her her well deserved peace. Now, about your base of operations, we are perfectly fine with you having it here so long as you do not attempt to harm any of us, or our young ones. Our young ones are curious and will more than likely stalk you. While their gazes __**can**_ _kill, they will not affect you, as the Essence of Magic has given you immunity to our stare. As you know, we are only a few of the many magical allies you will have. However, some other magical creatures may oppose you, as they may have gone insane from the millennia of mistreatment. The Essence has told us that the Dementors of 'Azkaban' are on their way to our nest to join us. Now follow me. _§"

With that, the basilisk turned and slithered away with a confused Harry trailing shortly behind. _Why would the Dementors help us when they've already sided with Voldemort? _He thought to himself.

_"Because, child, they simply seek fair treatment, and until you came along, Voldemort was their best option."_ A voice reverberated in his head.

_Woah! Who are you? Wait… Are you the Essence of Magic?_ He thought back.

If voices in one's mind could make faces, Harry was sure the Essence was smirking… Well, if it has a face that is. "_Yes, child, I am. Also, I do not have a face, but if I did, I __**would**__be smirking, thank you very much."_

_ Yeah, ha-ha, very funny. I'm laughing so hard I fell off my dinosaur. _Harry thought back sarcastically.

_"I thought it was," _the Essence thought back, making a sniffing sound to act like it was offended by Harry's comment. _"But that's not important. Pay attention to the tour or you'll end up getting lost and eventually killing yourself."_

_ You don't have much faith in me, do you?_

_ "Nope."_

_ Thanks, I feel the love. _Harry replied sarcastically before coming back to himself and taking in his surroundings. He was surrounded by incredibly tall trees with massive trunks and all varieties of _regular _snakes slithering about them. _So, I've been thinking, what other magical creatures will be on their way to help?_

_ "Succubi, dragons, goblins, centaurs, basilisks, giants, trolls, vampires, werewolves, some demons, acromantulas, Dementors, and more. Also, a promising ability that you might want to know you have now, is shadow magic, so technically you can be called a shadow mage. Shadow mages can do many things, but the most prominent are controlling beings that are shadow related, Dementors, and then you can also shadow travel, which can take you anywhere in the world, as long as there's a shadow. With Dementors being shadow beings, you can talk to them as a shadow mage, but you could already do that since I picked you to purge the magical and muggle worlds. Now pay attention to your hosts, or I'll take a physical form just so I can smack you upside the head."_

_ Violent much, are we?_

_"Very, now pay attention."_

_ "_§ _It is in your best interest to get a familiar. We suggest a basilisk that is fully grown, because bonding with your familiar will cause a growth spurt for it, and if it is a fully grown basilisk, it'll be even bigger than the most ancient of our species. We also suggest that you take scales from our shed skins to make yourself some robes out of them, that way you're more spell resistant, and once the dragons get here, they will allow you to take some of their scales as well. After that you will have to request some silk from the acromantulas if you want your robes to actually be comfortable. Finally, the Dementors will give you one of their cloaks, not that it's necessary, but it would make you look completely badass. _§_"_

At that, Harry broke into a fit of laughter, causing all of the nearby serpents to look at him like he was insane. _"_§ _What is so funny, pink-skin? _§_"_

_ "_§ _Oh, nothing, just the fact that I _never _thought I'd hear a snake, much less a basilisk, say badass. _§_"_

_ "_§ _Oh, ha-ha-ha, very funny pink-skin. _§_" _The basilisk who made the badass comment replied, very sarcastically, one might add, while also rolling its slit eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Essence of Magic**

**§= Parseltongue**

**Previously**

_At that, Harry broke into a fit of laughter, causing all of the nearby serpents to look at him like he was insane. _"§ What is so funny, pink-skin? §"

"§ Oh, nothing, just the fact that I _never_ thought I'd hear a snake, much less a basilisk, say badass. §"

"§ Oh, ha-ha-ha, very funny pink-skin. §" _The basilisk who made the badass comment replied, very sarcastically, one might add, while also rolling its slit eyes._

**Now**

**Dream**

_"As I told you, your many allies are aware of what is to come. There is, however, a little something that you need to know."_

_ "What's that?" Harry asked, curious._

_ "You do not have full knowledge of your heritage, so I have decided to tell you _everything_ about your heritage. You are not only the heir of the House of Potter, but also the heir of the Houses of Peverell, Black, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Emrys. These are _very _ancient and powerful houses. As you should know, this makes you Merlin's descendant. So now you are as, if not more, powerful than Merlin himself, and that is without my added strength and power. You are the rightful owner of Hogwarts as well. So when you wake up, the first thing I want you to do is apparate into Gringotts and speak to Ragnok. He will give you your head of house rings and access to your vaults after a blood test to prove who you say you are. After you get your head of house rings, ask Ragnok about the marriage contracts. He will pretty much tell you that you will have to marry multiple witches, for each house has a contract or more. The House of Potter's only contract there is to marry the eldest daughter of House of Greengrass, which is good, because they're a grey family. With House of Black, you have two marriage contracts, one to House of Greengrass, but since the eldest is already engaged to the House of Potter— you— the House of Black will get the second eldest daughter of the House of Greengrass; the House of Black also has a marriage contract with the House of Davis. The House of Peverell has three marriage contracts, one being with the House of Bones, another being with the House of Abbot, and the final being with the House of Patil— count yourself lucky sport, you get twins! *cough* Alright, got sidetracked, the House of Gryffindor has one marriage contract, this one very old, with the House of Bell, I believe you know the person you're marrying, if not, it's Katie. The house of Ravenclaw has a contract with the House of Black, but since there is no woman descendant, you'll have to reinstate Andromeda Tonks back to the family and marry her daughter, Nymphadora. The House of Hufflepuff has two marriage contracts, both of which are with the House of Delacour, I believe you know Fleur and Gabrielle. The House of Slytherin has one contract with the House of Turpin, I believe her name is Lisa. Finally, the House of Emrys has one contract with the House of Spinnet; this contract is exceedingly ancient, going all the way back to Merlin himself, and the very first Spinnet. SO, I feel _really _bad for you, mainly because of all the headaches you'll get *chuckle*," the Essence of Magic continued._

_ "Wait, if I get a headache, wouldn't you?"_

_ "I don't have a head, dumbass."_

_ "It was just a question, sheesh."_

_ "Anyways, as I was saying before your exceedingly stupid question, you will end up having thirteen wives, while there are twelve contracts, you can't forget the twin part. Now, another thing you need to know, is that these families are all on their way, they have an instinct on where to go. However, they are going to be staying a small distance away from the basilisk nest so they won't get hurt or accidentally hurt a basilisk in any way._

_ "The Dementors have already left Azkaban and are on their way to where you are, the basilisk nest. The same is happening with every battle-ready dragon. Unfortunately, the centaurs have decided to stay with the light side, while the werewolves have decided to stay with the dark side. Most of the trolls and giants are also staying with the dark side, however, every single acromantula is joining you. They are all on their way to the basilisk nest as we speak. The vampires may be trying to stay neutral, but the demons and succubi are definitely siding with you. All you need to do to get their help is a ritual and it will summon the demon and succubi armies. Meanwhile, the goblins _are_ siding with you, but they are busy preparing and running Gringotts, so they won't be much help until the war is actually started._

_ "The Dementors will reach you in two days, same as the dragons, and the acromantulas by the fourth day, as they have to travel on foot. As I said before, the demons and succubi will be with you as soon as you complete a ritual to summon them. The grey families that are joining you will be with you as soon as they can, as they still need to bring the necessities with them. So they'll be with you anywhere from one day to three weeks; such a wide time frame is simply because they are not travelling together._

_ "One last thing before you awaken, and this is very important for your health. You and Daphne Greengrass are soul mates, so I suggest that whenever she arrives, you spend around six or more hours a day with her. She and her family are already aware of this as her parents and your parents figured it out while making the marriage contract. She is also aware that you have other marriage contracts to attend to, and while not happy about it, she grudgingly agreed that you need to fulfill those contracts, because if you didn't you would die or lose your magic. I might as well tell you the truth, she and her family will be there tomorrow, good luck!"_

_ "WAIT! YOU FUCKING DIC―"_

**End Dream**

**Real Life**

"―K!" Harry yelled. "GOD DAMN IT! HE KICKED ME OUT OF MY OWN DREAM!"

_"§ What is all the yelling about pink-skin, it better be important; you awoke me from my beauty sleep. §" _The basilisk who was his guide asked extremely irritated.

_"§ Don't blame me, blame the bloody Essence of Magic, the prick just dropped a bomb on me by saying my soul mate is arriving later today, AND THEN HE KICKED ME OUT OF MY DREAM! §"_

Every basilisk nearby was now awake and aware of the exchange. In response to his rant, they made a funny hissing sound that could be compared to laughter. Looking around, Harry could see every visible serpent making what could only be described as an amused face. He huffed in indignation when he realized that they were enjoying the "show" he had just put on. _Really now, you would think a guy would be able to rant in front of a bunch of snakes, but noooooooo. Harry can't do that, it makes Harry bad. I'm starting to regret accepting that damn Essence's deal._

_ "I heard that," _Aforementioned being answered in his head.

_ Good, you were supposed to._

_ "This is just too funny."_

_ Oh, thanks, I'm glad that the shock of my soul mate meeting me later today while I'm completely unprepared amuses you. I'd do _anything _to please you, _Harry responded mockingly.

_"Oh good, in that case, whine some more, it is incredibly amusing, and not just for me, but the basilisks as well," _the Essence of Magic **(A/N: Going to start referring to as "EoM" or simply "the Essence", just makes shit a lot easier, fair warning) **replied equally, if not even more, mocking. _"Oh, and by the way, when I said she was coming here today with her family, I meant in about an hour; soo, good luck!"_ With that the EoM left Harry all alone in his mind, where his seething anger was soon replaced with fear, and then anger again at the EoM abandoning him.

"Ok, now what the hell should I do?! This is the first time I've actually had to worry about this and shit I'm talking to myself now."

**In voice of SpongeBob time announcer: One hour later**

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh SHIT!" Harry shouted at nobody in particular. "Ok, calm down Harry and actually― damn it, I'm talking to myself again. In fact, I still am. Fuck this."

_"Calm down or you'll end up having a heart attack," _the Essence spoke out of the blue.

_YOU FUCKING DICK! YOU COULD HAVE HELPED A LITTLE! _Harry ranted.

_"Yes, yes I could have; but then I wouldn't have gotten to watch you get so damn uncomfortable. Besides, I had my own business to attend to. I can't tell you what, but I _can _tell you it involves lots and lots of dynamite and an alpaca from Cambodia."_

_ I don't think I even _want _to know now. _Harry thought for a moment before revising his statement, _Scratch that, I _know _I don't want to know._

_ "Smart choice, if you knew, you'd probably think I'm insane."_

_ Great, just great, I'm helping an insane being that is magic in and of itself. It's times like these that I question my own sanity. I mean seriously, who in their right mind would help any being that is willing to admit that it's insane. Just great._

_ "Hey! I didn't say I'm insane, although, now that I think about it, I am kind of insane; but that's beside the point! Besides, you're not exactly a sane person. Oh, looky there, it's your SOUL MATE!" _The EoM finished in a sing song fashion.

_ Damn you._

_ "Love you too."_

Harry came out of his mental conversation and saw a family of four, plus three house elves, arrive. Harry inspected the family with a critical eye. The man looked to be in his forties with dark brown hair and sky blue eyes, he was pale like many British people, but not overly so. He looked to be about 5'11" with a stocky build and aura that said that he meant business. Next to him was a tan woman standing a good 5'8" in her mid-thirties with long blonde hair that cascaded down her back and warm, chocolate colored eyes. Her body had curves in all the right places and an air that gave you the feelings of warmth and happiness. In front of her was a girl about fifteen years of age standing at a proud 5'5" that looked exactly like the woman, except with the man's sky blue eyes. In all honesty, Harry thought she was absolutely perfect. To her left was a girl with the man's pale skin, the woman's long blonde hair, and the woman's warm, chocolate colored eyes. She was about 4'7" and looked to be about twelve years old. Once the adults and the fifteen year old noticed him their eyes widened, meanwhile, the twelve year old simply walked up to Harry and looked him straight in the eye.

"Is your hair always like that?" She asked.

_Well, that was completely unexpected. _"Uh, yeah, it is. I've tried to fix it but nothing works. Anyways, my name's Harry Potter, and you are?" He finally responded.

The girl's eyes widened before she shouted, "DAPHNE! I FOUND YOUR SOUL MATE!" These words caused both Harry and the girl now identified as Daphne go as red as a tomato, for Daphne, whether in anger of embarrassment, is a good question. "Oh, and I'm Astoria Greengrass."

It was at this point that the adults and Daphne came forward. "Sorry about her, I am Dan Greengrass, this is my wife, Eve, this is my eldest daughter, Daphne, and this is my youngest, whom you have already talked to, Astoria." Dan said in a kind tone, holding his hand out to shake Harry's, which Harry grasped in a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Greengrass, and you as well Mrs. Greengrass. It is an honor to meet you. Ms. Daphne Greengrass, young Ms. Astoria Greengrass, it is a pleasure to meet the both of you. My name is Harry Potter." Harry said, purposefully avoiding Astoria's earlier comment as to save both himself and Daphne from embarrassment. Unfortunately for the both of them, Astoria wouldn't have that.

"Yeah, nice to meet you, too. Anyways, Daphne, Harry, Harry, Daphne. Daphne here is your soul mate. So you better treat my sister well or I will hurt you!" Astoria stated firmly.

"Um, okay? Hello, Daphne," he paused in nervousness. "Nice weather we're having?"

His apparent nervousness caused Daphne to break into a fit of giggles, resulting in her family walking towards the large manor that the Essence had recently formed along the southern edge of the ancient basilisk nests. The manor was strategically placed facing down the sloping forest hills, on a ridge, and was surrounded in thick trees for miles along the east and west perimeter, leaving the only entrance the north, which involved going through a large number of basilisk nests just to get to the manor. Thus providing an incredibly deadly fight to any who sought out the manor uninvited, not that they'd get there seeing as the woods for a twenty mile radius were covered under a large fidelius charm, with the Essence of Magic as the secret keeper, leaving the area night impenetrable to invaders. The basilisks, fortunately, avoided the Greengrasses per the Essence's orders, just so the family could get comfortable first. Meanwhile, every basilisk was out hunting in the surrounding woods that stretched on for miles on the nearby mountains.

Finally Daphne ceased her giggling and smiled brightly at Harry before saying, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Harry smiled slightly, "Same here. So how do we form the soul bond? I wasn't necessarily told about this until a dream last night, so I'm new to this situation."

"Oh, um, we have to, uhh, we have to kiss, um, on the lips." Daphne stuttered, suddenly feeling very nervous.

Meanwhile, Harry was feeling the same way, but felt a sudden, irresistible urge to kiss here, which he did. When their lips met, a bright flash of white light surrounded them, but they didn't notice that, they were too busy dealing with the fireworks going off in their brains and the backflips that were being performed by their stomachs. They were focusing on the sensation of the kiss and how their heartbeats were rapidly increasing, but staying in sync. They were also aware that they knew everything about the other. Daphne saw memories of Harry's tragic past, while Harry saw all of Daphne's normal past. They were aware they knew what the other was thinking, thus giving them a way to communicate without speaking. The kiss was a simple chaste kiss, but it spoke wonders about how the two felt for the other. It was like a dam breaking in their minds, releasing all the loving emotions for the other, a dam that previously held them back.

The kiss only lasted for about two minutes, but it felt like an eternity for the new couple. Unfortunately, they both drew back, as they needed to breathe. However, they kept their foreheads pressed together and were holding each other closely.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the couple, the rest of the Greengrass clan watched in silence as they saw the magic of a soul bond take place. Eve had tears pouring gently down her face, while Dan was damn close to letting his own tears flow free. Astoria, however, was not yet mature enough, and found the entire seen gross and walked back into the manor so she could get away from all the drama.

The couple finally opened their long closed eyes and stared into the others, both immediately falling into a trance at seeing their opposite's windows to the soul. The two of them stood like that for what would end up being hours until the manor's **(courtesy of the EoM ) **house elves, obtained by the EoM to save them as they rely on serving others to survive and cannot live for long while free, came out to retrieve the pair for supper.

The two reluctantly drew apart, but made sure to maintain a firm grasp on their soul mate's hand as they were walking into the manor. Once they got inside, they went to the dining room where they saw the rest of the Greengrasses helping themselves to a nice feast. When they saw the couple the adults had knowing smiles on their faces while Astoria just frowned due to not understanding what was really going on.

Daphne and Harry then proceeded to take seats right next to each other, making sure they were extremely close to the other, and started putting food on their plates. Since they could not hold hands, they settled for the next best thing and made sure that their legs were constantly in contact with the other's leg. While the couple was eating, the Greengrass matriarch and patriarch both looked at each other before nodding. This resulted in Dan speaking, "We've been thinking, since it is very important that soul mates that have actually created their soul bond to be with the other constantly, that the two of you can share a bed together. We trust that the two of you will not do anything inappropriate, at least not anytime soon, but since we don't want to take too many chances, Daphne, your mother is going to teach you the contraception charm in after supper. We do hope the two of you wait, but we cannot forbid it, as you two are obviously in love, but we _can_ try to prevent it, at least for a month so the two of you can get adjusted. Please keep in mind that we are only looking out for your best interests." At this, Dan looked like he had just had a sudden epiphany and whispered to his wife. When he pulled back he had a full-fledged grin stuck on his face. He finally decided to tell them what had him grinning, "Now that we think about it, you two are not going to be able to go back to Hogwarts now, so there is no real reason for you to not do anything of the sort. So Harry this is your one warning; hurt my baby girl, and you'll be dead. Onto a different matter now, about your education, how are you going to be able to continue your educational career?" Dan stared at the two intently, who were bother rose red from the previous topic of the discussion.

"Uh, well, sir, we don't really need to continue it anymore. Seeing as Daphne and I know everything the other knows, and I know everything the Essence of Magic knows, there's not really anything more for us to learn. Oh, by the way, in case you are unaware, the being that contacted you is called the Essence of Magic, and is pretty much everything magical and magic related. The reason it hasn't really done anything major yet, other than kidnapping me," the last part he muttered under his breath before continuing, "is because it is still weak. It was asleep for a long time and it will take some time for it to fully awaken again. The way I was told, the more supporters we have on our side, the faster it will awaken, thus the faster we will win the war."

The two adults had a flabbergasted expression pasted on their faces at what they had just learned. Dan finally managed to stutter out, "W-wait, are you saying we're working with the being that makes up everything magical?" Harry simply nodded. "And it has long been asleep and has only recently begun to awaken?" He asked incredulously, resulting in an affirmative nod from Harry. "Well, that explains how we got here so fast," he finally muttered.

"Speaking of here, where exactly is here? The Essence never told me nor did the basilisks." Harry asked.

"BASILISKS?!"

"Oh, yeah, don't worry though, I can control them. Plus they are siding with us and are fanatically loyal to the Essence of Magic." Harry replied nonchalantly.

"Uh huh… well to answer your question, we're currently in an isolated part of southern Ireland, surround by mountains." Dan finally answered after getting over the shock of the basilisks.

"Oh. Wish I knew that."

"You did, because I did," Daphne added, exasperated.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that, heh, sorry," Harry answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck out of sheer embarrassment.

"It's fine. Anyway, let's go to bed Harry. We've got a long day tomorrow." Daphne said with a finality that neither Dan nor Harry thought to question. She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him up the stairs to the master bedroom, which belonged to Harry, courtesy of the Essence, where they did they're nightly routines before snuggling up close to each, spooning, and falling into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
